California ranks No. 3 in U.S. data center boom

The big picture: A data center is a physical facility that stores and runs the servers that power digital services.

• California's role in the data center boom has drawn scrutiny as demand for AI infrastructure surges. Concerns over energy use, rising utility costs, water consumption and environmental impacts have led to local pushback, especially in rural areas like Imperial County.
• Widespread community opposition has prompted efforts to tighten regulations on data centers with proposed state legislation to increase oversight, mandate reporting requirements and limit their environmental toll.

Zoom out: While the South leads the country in the number of data centers, the West is expected to see a 34% increase from its current total.

• More than a third of Americans live within 5 miles of an operating data center.